Pneumatic elevator.



G. & J. BERNERT.

PNEUMATIC ELEVATOR.

APPLIOATION FILED MAY13, 1910.

977,849. Patented Dec. 6, 1910.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

wucwwa G. & J. BERNERT. PNEUMATIC ELEVATOR.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 13, 1910.

PNEUMATIC ELEVATOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed May 13, 1910. Serial No. 561,201.

pneumatic elevator, the construction and ar-' rangement being such that the product to be elevated is delivered to the air blast tube through a valvecontrolled branch in such manner that the airblast from the fan is not interrupted or broken incidental to opening of the valve for delivering the product into said air blast tube or conveyer trunk. With the above objects inview the invention consists in certain peculiarities of construction and combination of parts tobe set forth hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings and subsequently claimed.

In the drawings Figure 1 represents a sectional elevation of a pneumatic elevator apparatus embodying the features of our invention, the section being indicated by line 1-1 of Fig. 3; Fig. 2, a detail cross-section of one of the fans employed in our apparatus, as indicated by line 22 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3, a sectional front elevation of the apparatus as indicated by line 33 of Fig. 4; Fig. 1, a plan view of the same with parts broken away and in section, and Fig. 5, a detail sectional elevation of another form of our improved valve for delivering grain or other products directly into the conveyer trunk.

Referring by characters to the drawings, 1, 1, represent casings of oppositely disposed fans 2, which fans are mounted upon a common shaft 3 that is journaled in pillow blocks 4 at its opposite ends, the ends being extended through the fan casings Power from any suitable source is imparted to the fan-shaft 3 through a pulley 5 in belt connection with said source. These fans form no part of our invention and are of standard type, their casings being provided with air inlet apertures 6, that encircle the fan shaft 8 and the usual tangentially disposed dis charge trunksv7. The discharge trunks 7 are connected by branch pipes 8 to a common delivery pipe 9, as clearly shown in Fig. 1, it being understood that by utilizing a pair of fans connected in this manner to a common delivery pipe that the efliciency is proportionately greater than in the case where a single fan is utilized although, in some instances, it may be desirable to use the pneumatic elevator in connection with a single fan. 7

Each discharge trunk is provided with a grain receiving aperture 10 and surrounding this aperture 1s a. box 11, which is secured to theupper trunk wall.' As best illustrated in Fig. 1, this box is provided with an inwardly o ening valve plate 13 in hinge connection therewith, the said flap valve being held in its closed position by means of a suitable spring.

Secured to the mouth of the box 11 directly over the valve, is an open mouthed tubular trough 14, in which is mounted a shaft 15 carrying a spiral conveyer section 16, the conveyer section terminating at a point over the mouth of thetrough which communicates with the valve-controlled box 11. The inner end of the trough 14 is provided with an upwardly extending receiving mouth17, to which mouth is secured a grain deliver hopper 18.

It s ould be understood that each discharge trunk 7 is provided with a trough 14 as just described, and a corresponding mechanism, the troughs being extended toward each other and terminating so as to form a space between their receiving months 17, while the hopper 18 is provided with spout openings that connect each mouth.

The shaft 15 that carries the spiral conveyer section extends across the machine through each trough 1 1 and, being provided with spiral conveyers pitched in opposite directions, will cause grain to be delivered to the discharge trunk 7 of each fan. In order to reduce or back gear the speed of the spiral conveyers from the hi hspeed fan shaft, we provide a counter-shaft 19, which counter-shaft etxends throu h the receiving mouths 17 of each trough, eing journaled in brackets 20 secured to the said. mouths, as shown in Figs. 4 and 3. The counter-shaft receives its motion from a pair of small pulleys 21, carried by the fan shaft, which pulleys are in belt connection with large pulleys 22 upon opposite ends of the counter-shaft. Motion from the counter-shaft is imparted to the spiral worm inner walls of Y Patented Dec.6,1910.

conveyer shaft through small and large pulleys 23, 24, respectively in belt connection with each other, the pulley 24; being fast upon the shaft 15 and, as shown, being provided with another face 24, which is adapted to operate in conjunction with another face 23 of the counter-shaft pulley, the second set of'faces being so proportioned as to reduce the speed of the shaft 15 still further should the belt connection be slipped from the first set to said second set, it being understood that this belt is of such length with relation to the proportion of the two sets of pulley faces that it is capable of fitting either.

' In the operation of our device grain or other products to be conveyed are delivered to the hopper 18. The right and left spiral conveyers within their respective troughs force the' delivered grain toward the boxes" 11 and as the grain becomes packed within the trough over the valves 12, the said valves v will yield downwardly and permit the grain to be forced into the discharge trunks 7. Thus said valves are not open except when the ends of the troughs 14 directly over the valve boxes are filled, and hence the aircurrent from the blast fans cannot escape through the valve-controlled opening that delivers grain to said troughs. The force of the air blast is thus maintained at a constant pressure and grain or other product desired to be conveyed may. be delivered at great. distances, it being understood that the grain which is caught up by the air blast is forced up through the branch pipes 8 and united at a common delivery pipe 9, from which pipe it may be spouted to any desired point.

Fig. 5 illustrates a portion of an air trunk 7 provided with a rain receiving aperture 10*, over which is tted a circular housing 14. This housing contains a rotary valve 12, which valve is mounted upon a driven shaft 15 andis provided with a series of compartments formed by radial valve wings. In this instance grain 1s delivered between the valve pockets from above and, as the 'valve slowly rotates in the direction of -the arrow, these pockets discharge the grain into the trunk 7 The empty pockets upon their return to the grain receiving end of the housing may be vented of any air contained therein through an aperture 25 that is formed in the circular walls of the housing. Thus it will be seen b this arrangement that the edges of the va ve-blades revolving within the circular housing will form a closure which will revent air from being taken into the trun as the grain 'is de- 1. A pneumatic elevator comprising a pair of fan casings having apertured' air discharge trunks extending therefrom, a drive shaft extending through both fan casings, fans mounted upon the drive shaft within the casings, valve boxes secured to the discharge trunks about their apertures, springcontrolled flap valves mounted within the boxes, a grain hopper located between the valve casings, troughs connecting the grain hopper and each valve box, a shaft extending through the troughs, right and left spiral conveyers mounted in the opposite troughs respectively, drivin means connectingthe conveyer shaft an fan driving shaft, a

grain delivery pipe, and branch pipes connecting the grain delivery pipe and fan casing trunks. I

2. A pneumatic elevator comprising a pair of fan casings having apertured air dis charge trunks extending therefrom, a drive shaft extending through both fan casings, fans mounted upon the drive shaft within the casings, valve boxes secured to the discharge trunks about their apertures, valves mounted within the boxes, a grain hopper located between the valve casings, troughs connecting the grain hopper and each valve box, a shaft extending through the troughs, right and left spiral conveyers mounted in the opposite trouglhs respectively, driving GEORGE BERNERT. JACOB BERNERT.

Witnesses EMMA 'PIGLOW, C. FRAsER... 

